Beauty 8 Expo - Faces

Continuing from previous post, here are some "faces" from the exhibition. Some are weird, some are creative, some are works of meticulous craftsmanship while some are plain art. I personally shot over 3,000 images over the last 4 days.

MAGICAL CREATIVITY MAKE-UP COMPETITION

(Princess Andromeda from Star Wars look-alike)

ANIMAL KINGDOM

WONDERFUL RAINBOW - WORLD OF FLORAL BY HONEY BEEUTY

HAIR AVANTGARDE COMPETITION - FANTASY JUNGLE

MAKE-UP MALAYSIA 2008 COMPETITION - FANTASY FIRE

Aha, finally...something less abnormal.

Beauty 8 Expo - The Exhibition

This has been a rather exciting week as I was covering the Beauty 8 Expo at PWTC together with Babyboss Pictures junior photographer, Sandra Wong. I was commissioned as the official photographer for the expo and thus, have to cover literally every bit and corner of the venues, Hussein Onn Hall A, Tun Razak Hall 1 and 2.

The event itself was pretty interesting despite the extremely low pay (approximately 55% below my normal chargable rate). Lots of models to feast the eyes upon. Naturally, it was not as busy and jam-packed as the annually renowned PC Fair.

After 4 days, I have selected a few pics to share about the exhibition.

The massive ques at the registration counters.

Aery Jo, professional make-up and academy.

The catwalk stage where daily shows and demos were conducted.

Hair Competition.

Sense & Style Beauty Academy.

Empro's booth.

My lunch for the last 4 days!!!

A Suit & A Neck Tie

Today marks the 3rd day shooting at PWTC's Beauty 8 Expo (September 15-18, 2008). Will upload some pics later in the week. Done with today's pictures selection, checked my emails, read today's papers, listening to some relaxing music and suddenly...felt like dropping in a blog post.

-

It has been more than half a year since I last wore a suit complete with a neck tie and a coat. Last time, that formal wear was my regular dress code on Sundays' church services. That was because I was either preaching or worship leading or serving in some other ministries. But I have resigned from all that roles and duties since January this year and lately, my church visits have been casually dressed.

-

I somehow miss looking smart and sharp in my suit. I have no invitation to any formal events and I don't see any near opportunities for dressing up again in my suits. I miss my neck ties and formal long sleeve shirts. I wonder if I can still button up the collar buttons on my shirts, maybe my neck has grown "fatter"!!!

Mega Shoot My Ass!!!

Early this week, I was awarded a 4-day mega shoot at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, covering a beauty expo. Sounds interesting and exciting. When the inquiry came for the 4-day shoot, I quoted RM4,000 (for one photographer) without prints, that's RM1,000 a day. That's my normal rate for a fullday shoot, 11am to 7pm in this case.

-
To cut the long story short, the final agreed fee was RM2,550 for two (2) photographers for all four (4) days!!! The client also requested for index prints of all the shots (index print is thumbnails print on a sheet of A4 paper). They also insisted that that was all they can afford to offer this time. RM2,550 is not even enough to cover a single photographer's fee what more two (2) photographers now!!! WTF!!! With this, I still have to pay my assistant photogapher, printing cost and also agency's referral fee. The nett is bare minimal!!!
-

OK, fine. Job gracefully accepted. Then client wanted to have a pre-event meeting with me!!! Fine, I agreed. And in that meeting...guess what? I was bombarded with all sorts of instructions and realised that this is no easy job! At first I thought the job would be easy since its just shooting an exhibition but now have come to learn that its so demanding and extremely pressed for time.

-
Seminars to cover, stage shows to cover, demos to cover, booths' activities to cover, competitions to cover...all running simutaneously across 3 big halls all at different venues!!! Wahlauwei!!! Its a job for 4 photographers lar!!! And the fee should be at least RM12,000!!! So, I am now having a headache trying to plan the work flow for two (2) phtographers.

-

Fortunately, new Babyboss junior photographer, Nicky will be coming to help out.

Apparently, there is absolutely NO time for lunch nor toilet breaks!!! God save me next week. Any volunteer photographers?

New Nikon Speedlight

In my earlier blog post, I mentioned about the sale of my Nikon D100 body. RM1,280-00 was the price. It was a good and quick sale to a very nice part-time freelance photographer who met up with me to view the camera here at Cheras Leisure Mall. And I have always wanted to get another flash light as a spare unit to my currently and probably aging one. Now that I have RM1,280 in hand, I can safely purchase a new Nikon Speedlight without hesitation.

I had two options, the Nikon SB800 and the latest model from Nikon, the SB900. The SB800 retails at RM1,100 while the SB900 at RM1,500. A 400 bucks different. I did the specification comparison and found that for my D2x, the SB800 is a better fit. The SB900 is more designed for the newer models of Nikon DSLRs like the D3 and the D700, running on FX format, commonly known as "full frame".

Nikon SB-800

Nikon SB-900

Features like auto format detection, advanced wireless lighting, optional water guard, etc, are redundant on my D2x. The only two possible good features are the capabilities of flash zooming up to 200mm and improved booster circuit for faster flash recycle time (as fast as using 5 batteries on the SB800).

In the end, I bought the SB800 Speedlight and saved RM400!

For Sale : Nikon D100 (SOLD)

For sale : Nikon D100 with MB-D100 (battery grip). Excellent tiptop condition. Comes with two (2) pieces of EN-EL3 batteries. Complete with original box set, camera strap, manual, etc. Used as back-up camera but now upgraded to D2X. Selling for RM1,280-00. View to appreciate. Thanks!